Unsupervised Science
by fezwearingjellybananas
Summary: Clint has a new idea for arrows, so he and Bruce attempt some unsupervised science. It probably wasn't a good idea


"Yep," Clint said, nodding as Bruce explained. "Got it."

"No you don't."

"Haven't a clue. What next?"

"We try and stabilise the chemicals so they only react on impact."

"Brilliant. How do we do that?"

"I just told you, you didn't understand."

"Right. I can do the maths bits."

"You did do the maths bits. We need something with a high activation energy, so it doesn't react until you need it to, but we need something with a low enough activation energy to actually reach it when you shoot. And you probably want at least a slightly endothermic reaction, just so you don't burn anyone, but you don't want too endothermic, or it won't react again."

"Right. I think I got it, but just in case, tell me the whole thing again, I wasn't listening."

"Clint."

"No, it's good, I got it, I got it. I think. Still not sure what the whole endo thing is, but I got it. You need something to make it hot first. And we're rewatching the Lego Movie later."

"You're such a child."

"You loved it."

"That's not the point, the point is, you're a child."

"And you love me anyway. Heat. Would an explosive be dangerous? Because I have explosive arrows, but they have a bit in them which can be hit to give the heat."

"That's not a bad idea. I think you'd need something to react with oxygen, or maybe took in water or increased exponentially with heat, but then I expect it would get hot."

"And however bad they are, we don't really want to encase them in something really hot, so something which does the other two."

"Exactly."

"So, got any chemical ideas?"

"No, not really. I am a physicist by training. A nuclear physicist, I don't even know every aspect of physics."

"No one knows all of physics Bruce, they haven't worked it all out yet. Do you understand Einstein? All the E=mc2 stuff?"

"First of all, it's technically ΔE=Δmc2, delta E, so the change in energy is equal to the change in mass time the speed of light squared, which is a really big number and why fusion could produce so much clean energy, but you have to heat everything to plasma state so the energy you'd have to put in on Earth, it's not worth it unless you could recreate cold fusion, in which case-"

"Bruce, you lost me at change in mass."

"But you understood the before bit?"

"Not really. Does it mean mass is energy?"

"It's all to do with mass energy equivalence."

"So I wasn't far off?"

"Not really."

"I am getting the hang of this physics thing. You'll be teaching me quantum mechanics next."

"You have no idea what they are, do you?"

"Nope, I read the name a magazine at the dentist once."

"You know, there's a bit of quantum theory in chemistry, about why the transition elements make coloured solutions."

"I don't know what a transition element is."

"The middle bit of the periodic table."

"Bet you don't use that often."

"Hilarious. I don't what could work. Maybe."

"See, putty arrows, I'm a genius. Maybe not that far."

"You're a lot smarter than people give you credit for though."

"Well, I don't like to seem too smart, people start expecting things of you. So, what things do I mix until they explode?"

"Hopefully not explode. You could try this. And this. And this one, this one, these two and maybe a bit of that for good measure."

"Will this work?"

"No idea, let's find out."

They mixed them together.

* * *

"Has anyone seen Clint?" Natasha asked. "I don't think he's ever been late for lunch before in his life."

"Not since this morning," Steve said. "He and Bruce were planning something."

"Clint was in the lab with Bruce?"

"Yes. Is that bad?"

"I guess he's designed another arrow. Last one turned out okay. SHIELD altered it a bit, he'd just stuck a USB on the end of the shaft, but the gist of it was there."

"He designs his own arrows?"

"Yes."

"Hey, J, can you tell Bruce and Clint they're missing lunch?" Tony asked. "So they'd better get themselves up here before Thor eats it all."

"I wouldn't-"

"We know," Natasha said. "He's trying to motivate them."

"I see."

"Doctor Banner would like to inform you that he and Agent Barton would be up," JARVIS said, "But they are a little stuck and might need a hand."

"They're stuck," Tony said.

"Indeed sir."

"Hey, Nat, bring a camera." They headed downstairs and opened the door. Clint and Bruce were standing in something.

"Good news!" Clint said. "Our design worked really well."

"And the bad news?" Steve asked.

"We need to work on delaying the reaction?"

"Also making it slightly less sticky," Bruce said.

"That's two lots of bad news to one good," Natasha said.

"The other good news is I understood a very small amount of physics."

"Brilliant Clint. Unstick yourselves then."

"Haven't got that far yet."

"Any ideas Bruce?" Tony asked.

"I don't know, I'm a physicist, not a chemist, you work it out."

"Engineer."

"We could try electricity," Thor said.

"Er, not when we're standing in it thanks," Clint said.

"Water then?"

"I would prefer that."

"But perhaps we should eat first."

"No, can't we get out? Please?"

"I think Thor's right, we've already got lunch ready, it would be a shame to waste it," Natasha said.

"Nat!"

"Relax, we'll bring you some," Tony said.

"Oi! You lot!

"Relax, we've got this." The other Avengers left the room and Tony set off the sprinkler system. Bruce and Clint emerged, dripping wet. "See?"

"Water works," Bruce said. "So now we have to get it inside an arrow. And maybe stay away from it."

"Or just don't do unsupervised science," Natasha said.

"Or that. If we try suspending the first solution first-"

"Lunch first," Clint said. "Well, maybe dry clothes. But lunch first. I think we've done enough science for the day."

* * *

**Author's Note: Unlike Bruce, I'm not a physicist. I did chemistry A-Level, only GCSE physics. So don't take my word for it on E=mc2, that is just the GCSE stuff and I'm probably wrong. I did look up the official mass energy equivalence term, but I didn't really understand it so let's just stick to pseudoscience in the future. Hence none of the chemicals have names, I couldn't think up a reaction.**

**Exothermic releases heat during a reaction (exo=out, thermic=heat). For example, oxygen plus hydrocarbons are often highly exothermic reactions (but you already knew that. Hydrogen and Carbon make up a lot of stuff. Wood, coal, petrol, you know)**

**Endothermic reactions take in more heat than they give out (endo=in), for example, making ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen, which you probably won't do, but seeing as it's needed to make fertilisers and stuff, you probably rely on it anyway.**

**It's all to do with bonds breaking and forming, bond breaking needs energy put in, bond making gives it out, there's a ratio which determines the exo and endo bit, which brings us too...**

**Activation energy, which is the energy required to start the chemical reaction. You need heat to start a fire, that's the activation energy. We like activation energy, because we're made of carbon too and the air's full of oxygen, without activation energy, we might all spontaneously combust. I expect that wouldn't be fun.**

**Δ is the Greek letter delta (specifically the capital), and in formula it signifies change in.**

**And if you want better explanations, could I recommend chemguide? Also if anyone's revising for chemistry A-level, chemguide. it's great. The physics you might be able to pull off Bitesize. **

**Also the Lego Movie quote, my brother was watching it, blame him. (It's a great film. If you like a laugh)**


End file.
